Here comes the night of the Minimoon, the smallest full moon of the year , at least in appearance. The phenomenon is opposite to that of the Supermoon , and occurs when the satellite is near the point of its orbit that is farthest from the Earth (apogee). As a result it appears slightly smaller than a traditional Full Moon . The apogee, as stated on the website of the Unione Astrofili Italiani , was reached on February 4 with the celestial body which was 406,475 kilometers from the Earth.

That of February is known in the Anglo-Saxon world as the " Snow Moon ", says astrophysicist Gianluca Masi , scientific director of the Virtual Telescope. "The name comes from the fact that February is the snowiest month in North America." The "white giant" is already visible at sunset, but reaches its peak at 19.31 Italian time on February 5th . “Looking at it, we have the illusion that the lunar disk is smaller , but it is absolutely identical. It rises among the stars of Leo and to keep it company are the three brightest planets». Looking to the South-West you can in fact see Venus, Jupiter and Mars.

(Unioneonline/vf)